Jaborwhalky Productions

Roadster Black Just got these boots for $50.. go look a ton...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:12:00 -0500

Roadster Black

Just got these boots for $50.. go look a ton more on sale all under $100 all wonderful.

gdfalksen: Ok, this was sent in by a fan and I think it is...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 01:11:52 -0500

gdfalksen:

Ok, this was sent in by a fan and I think it is hysterical.

They got this photo from a photoshoot I did a year ago.

Clothing inspiration for the Steampunk...

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:07:04 -0500

Clothing inspiration for the Steampunk Cruise
http://steampunkcruise.com/ March 16-23, 2013

Gown by Gucci

Photo

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:01:32 -0500

therealgirlgoth: jaborwhalky: Steampunk art stolen by Design...

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 01:46:33 -0500

therealgirlgoth:

jaborwhalky:

Steampunk art stolen by Design Toscano?

When you see someone getting blatantly ripped off without being properly paid and credited, you should say something.

I have a large number of artists who I know, who I am friends with, and who I respect greatly for their amazing talent. One of those artists is the Ukrainian-born artisan leatherworker Bob Basset. I have known Bob and his art since the early 2000s, back in the days when Livejournal was a big thing to use. I encouraged Bob to post his work on my Steampunk fashion group as I felt his stuff really fit in well with the steampunk aesthetic and he does fantastic work that should be seen. Bob did as I encouraged him and he posted his stuff for steampunk fans to see, and soon he was picked up and blogged about by Cory Doctorow at Boingboing.net. Images of his masks and sculptures went viral (rightly so) and shot around the web like crazy.

Now that is great for an artist. They need their work to be seen so they can continue to make a living off of their art, and thus continue making the art that we all love. Making a living as an artist is very hard. Being a working artist involves a lot of juggling between trying to sell you art, getting more work, producing your art, and promoting yourself so that you can make the sales you need to pay the rend, buy food, clothe yourself, etc. It’s hard work but it’s incredibly rewarding for the artist and for the rest of us we get to see lots and lots of incredible art.

So having known and loved Bob’s work for 10 years at this point, imagine my happiness for him when I came across a sculpture of one of his masks being sold on this site. I thought “Great for Bob! More of his work is out there and it’s a great paying gig for him!” (Toscano is a multi-million dollar company so they can afford to pay their artists well and they often give credit to the artist). Then I had the horrible thought that maybe this isn’t good and it’s a case of a big company ripping off the little guy, which has happened before and will happen again so long as companies can get away with it. So I popped over to Bob’s personal Facebook page and linked him the online catalogue page with his mask and asked if he knew about it. An hour later, he replied with “Yes, I know they simply stolen our design. But what I can do from Ukraine I don’t know.”

So there you have it. There is no mistaking that the sculpture is a copy of Bob Basset work: his style is so unique. Not only was he not given credit for it, but he was not compensated at all for their using his mask. Now I hate to have to bring this to light because I have loved Design Toscano for years. I have a lot of fantastic statues and art from them lining my walls. But something has to be said. And you have to wonder, why did this happen? Toscano makes good money on the art they sell. They didn’t need to copy this work without compensation. Why not have approached the artist who made the masks they obviously liked and wanted to sell and commission a sculpture from him? Artists live or die by their sales. They need to be paid by people who want to make use of their work, and they need to be credited for their art.

What I am hoping is that whoever the main people are at Toscano did not know that this statue is a copy of an another artist’s work. I hope that Toscano is made aware of the situation and does what must be done to make it right. Bob should be compensated and credited and given an apology. I hope that happens and everyone can go about things nicely. I hope we will get a statement out of Toscano over this. But I strongly advise anyone reading this to rethink buying anything from their shop until they explain what happened and makes amends. If they did this to Bob, I’m afraid to wonder how many other artists have copies of their work in Toscano’s catalogue and have not been paid for it. Each Toscano sculpture we see, we have to wonder “is this really just a blatant copy of something made by an artist who is too small to have a voice to point it out?”

So if you would like to know how this happened, please email them at CustomerService@DesignToscano.com and politely ask what happened. Feel free to use the info you find in this post. If enough people contact them and enough of a big deal is made about this online, maybe we can get an answer as to how this happened, who is responsible, and what they are going to do to make this right for Bob Basset. If this gets set right it’s not just a win for Bob; it’s a win for all working artists who don’t know even the first step to standing up to a big corporation like this.

Design Toscano has replied!

Response from Design ToscanoDesign Toscano, 1December 19, 2012

To clear up the issue on the Steampunk piece that has some of our customers questioning our motives we would like to explain.

The statue was produced and offered to Design Toscano as one of a portfolio of new sculptures to review. There was some confusion between Mr. Bob Basset and the factory that produced this piece for Design Toscano. Mr. Mike Stopka, president of Design Toscano, spoke directly with Mr. Basset and explained that Design Toscano had been mislead in the creation of this piece. Mr. Basset and Mr. Stopka have worked out a generous plan that the artist will get compensation for his work and Mr. Basset has graciously allowed Design Toscano to continue to sell his fantastic work of art. Design Toscano is appreciative to its customers who informed us of this oversight and as always we celebrate artists and their creative works.

I think in this case, this is really a best case scenario, considering it’s already in production and sold to the public. It would be awesome if it opened up further dialog between them, and he was able to make pieces for them with his proper recognition.

Read my update to the post as of Dec 20th , they still have not gotten in touch with the artist.

I’m very pleased and excited to announce that my post...

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 01:20:00 -0500

I’m very pleased and excited to announce that my post about Design Toscano’s appropriation of artist Bob Basset’s work has been linked to on Boingboing.net. It’s important that as many people as possible see this so that they know what is going on. Bob still has yet to be contacted by Toscano, as you can read here on the fan page post in the comments (or see the screen grabs I have included, where Bob Basset states that he has not been directly contacted). So we need to keep pushing and asking questions to make sure that something is done. It’s important for us to stand up for independent artists.

I should note that Boing Boing mistakenly listed someone by the name of Rob Murdoch as the writer of my post. Obviously that’s not the case (I’m the only person who writes on my blog here), and I assume it’ll be fixed soon.

absurdonio: Portraits of Japanese Kabuki actors and geisha....

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 12:01:02 -0500

absurdonio:

Portraits of Japanese Kabuki actors and geisha. Unknown photographer, 1870s.

oldbookillustrations: The fair archeress. George du Maurier,...

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:01:02 -0500

oldbookillustrations:

The fair archeress.

George du Maurier, from Pegasus re-saddled, by Henry Cholmondeley-Pennell, Philadelphia, 1878.

(Source: archive.org)

Steampunk art stolen by Design Toscano? When you see someone...

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 02:48:00 -0500

Steampunk art stolen by Design Toscano?

When you see someone getting blatantly ripped off without being properly paid and credited, you should say something.

I have a large number of artists who I know, who I am friends with, and who I respect greatly for their amazing talent. One of those artists is the Ukrainian-born artisan leatherworker Bob Basset. I have known Bob and his art since the early 2000s, back in the days when Livejournal was a big thing to use. I encouraged Bob to post his work on my Steampunk fashion group as I felt his stuff really fit in well with the steampunk aesthetic and he does fantastic work that should be seen. Bob did as I encouraged him and he posted his stuff for steampunk fans to see, and soon he was picked up and blogged about by Cory Doctorow at Boingboing.net. Images of his masks and sculptures went viral (rightly so) and shot around the web like crazy.

Now that is great for an artist. They need their work to be seen so they can continue to make a living off of their art, and thus continue making the art that we all love. Making a living as an artist is very hard. Being a working artist involves a lot of juggling between trying to sell you art, getting more work, producing your art, and promoting yourself so that you can make the sales you need to pay the rend, buy food, clothe yourself, etc. It’s hard work but it’s incredibly rewarding for the artist and for the rest of us we get to see lots and lots of incredible art.

So having known and loved Bob’s work for 10 years at this point, imagine my happiness for him when I came across a sculpture of one of his masks being sold on this site. I thought “Great for Bob! More of his work is out there and it’s a great paying gig for him!” (Toscano is a multi-million dollar company so they can afford to pay their artists well and they often give credit to the artist). Then I had the horrible thought that maybe this isn’t good and it’s a case of a big company ripping off the little guy, which has happened before and will happen again so long as companies can get away with it. So I popped over to Bob’s personal Facebook page and linked him the online catalogue page with his mask and asked if he knew about it. An hour later, he replied with “Yes, I know they simply stolen our design. But what I can do from Ukraine I don’t know.”

So there you have it. There is no mistaking that the sculpture is a copy of Bob Basset work: his style is so unique. Not only was he not given credit for it, but he was not compensated at all for their using his mask. Now I hate to have to bring this to light because I have loved Design Toscano for years. I have a lot of fantastic statues and art from them lining my walls. But something has to be said. And you have to wonder, why did this happen? Toscano makes good money on the art they sell. They didn’t need to copy this work without compensation. Why not have approached the artist who made the masks they obviously liked and wanted to sell and commission a sculpture from him? Artists live or die by their sales. They need to be paid by people who want to make use of their work, and they need to be credited for their art.

What I am hoping is that whoever the main people are at Toscano did not know that this statue is a copy of an another artist’s work. I hope that Toscano is made aware of the situation and does what must be done to make it right. Bob should be compensated and credited and given an apology. I hope that happens and everyone can go about things nicely. I hope we will get a statement out of Toscano over this. But I strongly advise anyone reading this to rethink buying anything from their shop until they explain what happened and makes amends. If they did this to Bob, I’m afraid to wonder how many other artists have copies of their work in Toscano’s catalogue and have not been paid for it. Each Toscano sculpture we see, we have to wonder “is this really just a blatant copy of something made by an artist who is too small to have a voice to point it out?”

So if you would like to know how this happened, please email them at CustomerService@DesignToscano.com and politely ask what happened. Feel free to use the info you find in this post. If enough people contact them and enough of a big deal is made about this online, maybe we can get an answer as to how this happened, who is responsible, and what they are going to do to make this right for Bob Basset. If this gets set right it’s not just a win for Bob; it’s a win for all working artists who don’t know even the first step to standing up to a big corporation like this

*Update as of Thursday December 20th 2012*

I’m very pleased and excited to announce that my post about Design Toscano’s appropriation of artist Bob Basset’s work has been linked to on Boingboing.net. It’s important that as many people as possible see this so that they know what is going on. Bob still has yet to be contacted by Toscano, as you can read here on the fan page post in the comments (or see the screen grabs I have included, where Bob Basset states that he has not been directly contacted by any one from Toscano). So we need to keep pushing and asking questions to make sure that something is done. It’s important for us to stand up for independent artists.

Win Exclusive Tickets from Comicmix now! Do you want to win...

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:42:33 -0400

Win Exclusive Tickets from Comicmix now!

Do you want to win tickets to a special sneak preview screening of the steampunk film Tai Chi Zero?

In order to enter, you must be able to do 3 things:

1. Be able to attended the screenings this Wednesday October 17th.

The cities and times for the exclusive preview screenings are

BOSTON – Wednesday, October 17 @ 7 PM
LOS ANGELES – Wednesday, October 17 @ 7:30 PM
PHILADELPHIA - Wednesday, October 17 @ 7:30 PM

2. You must have a working email that you check regularly and that you know how to use.

3. You must be fast as this is first come first served.

If you want to win tickets to this fantastic film all you have to do is email us at Jaborwhalky@gmail.com

In the subject line of the email you must put “I want Tai Chi Zero Tickets”

In the body of that email you must put your full name and what city’s screening you can attended.

BOSTON – Wednesday, October 17 @ 7PM,
LOS ANGELES – Wednesday, October 17 @ 7:30,PM
PHILADELPHIA - Wednesday, October 17 @ 7:30PM

We have limited numbers per screening so this is fist come first serve and we will need your names so we can have them added to the list so you can see this film before anyone else does.

You will be emailed back ASAP if you where one of the lucky ones who jumped on this fast enough and won tickets. All winners will be notified by 1pm(est) Wednesday .

So act fast, email in, and good luck!

About this fantastic film you will get to see before anyone else:

Tai Chi Zero

From the creators of Ip Man and Detective Dee, and featuring action directed by the legendary Sammo Hung, Tai Chi Zero is a full on, steampunk-infused, video game influenced kung-fu throw down! In legendary Chen Village, everyone is a martial arts master, using their powerful Chen Style Tai Chi in all aspects of their lives. Lu Chan has arrived to train, but the villagers are forbidden to teach Chen Style to outsiders, and do their best to discourage him by challenging him to a series of fights. Everyone, from strong men to young children, defeats him using their Tai Chi moves. But when a man from the village’s past returns with a frightening steam-powered machine and plans to build a railroad through the village at any costs, the villagers realize they may have no choice but to put their faith in Lu Chan. Who has a secret power of his own.

SAILOR TWAIN’S NEW YORK: Secrets & Mysteries of the...

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 07:09:22 -0400

SAILOR TWAIN’S NEW YORK: Secrets & Mysteries of the River Hudson

for SAILOR TWAIN, Mark Siegel’s graphic novel.

A SPECIAL EXHIBIT AT THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

Thursday, October 25th 2012

Free for all

6:30pm until 8:30pm

Special author presentation followed by the art exhibit opening reception.

Drinks, Food, Art & Mermaids

*Red carpet event

*Prizes for best dressed

*Exclusive Sailor Twain Wine tasting

Dress in Edwardian, Victorian, Dandy, Black Tie, Steampunk,Mermaid or Neo Vintage style.

At The New York Public Library

Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York

RSVP here

gdfalksen: Are you going to be in NYC on Friday, October...

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:49:50 -0400

gdfalksen:

Are you going to be in NYC on Friday, October 5th?

Do you want to win tickets to an exclusive high seas sailing party on a huge historic sloop sail boat?

Do you want to attend this one of a kind party in your best vintage style outfit, drinking wine on a boat that will circle the classic shores of the Hudson River?

Do you like Victorian mermaid stories?

If you answered yes to these four questions then you have a chance to win tickets to this event on October 5th.

Here is how you win your ticket to the SAILOR TWAIN CLEARWATER SAIL.

Reblog and Like this post.

On Wednesday at midnight, EST, a 4 winners will be picked at random from the reblogs and announced on this blog. So keep your eyes here for that post. If you are one of the winners, you will know how to pick up your tickets. The tickets are a $50 dollar value.

More info on this wonderful event here: SAILOR TWAIN SAIL

Now on to the rules…

There will be only 4 winners.

You must Reblog and Like this post to win.

The 4 winners will be contacted upon winning with all the info on how, when, and where to pick up tickets, as well as the location of the dock.

You must able to attend this event in NYC on October 5th.

You must have a valid photo ID.

One like and one reblog per user.

HAVE FUN!

Steampunk at NYCC Friday October 12 Steampunk...

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 17:28:00 -0400

Steampunk at NYCC

Friday October 12

Steampunk 101

Location: 1A06

Friday 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Curious about Steampunk?

Want to learn more about the genre that is rapidly becoming the next big subculture trend? Then come join author and noted steampunk expert G. D. Falksen as he leads a panel discussing all things steampunk. This panel will cover the basics of the steampunk genre, its development as a subculture and fashion trend, and will also explore current developments in steampunk literature, fashion and related topics. Also featuring exclusive announcements. There will be all manner of giveaways of many steampunk products at the end of this panel.

With

Saturday, October 13

NYCC & NYAF Steampunk Meet Up 1:00-5:00 PM

Saturday 1:00pm At the Starbucks on Level 2 of the Javits center (see map here for where: javitscenter.com map). An ongoing steampunk meet up to take photos, make new pals, talk and have fun.

Author signing for G. D. Falksen

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Location: Autographing Table 2

Tai Chi Zero

Saturday 7:45 pm - 9:15 pm

Location: 1A04

The New York Asian Film Festival, Variance Films, and Well Go USA present a special sneak preview screening of the steampunk film Tai Chi Zero!

See it before it hits theaters! If you show up in your best steampunk or kung fu flick-inspired costume, you might win awesome prizes! The good folks of The New York Asian Film Festival will be on hand to dole out the goodies.

Sunday October 14

Author signing for Mark Siegel

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Location: First Second Booth #1214

Ongoing all four days.

Unofficial Steampunk Photo Safari from 10am-6pm daily

This is a chance for you shutter bugs to test your skill and talent. You photographers are challenged to take photos at NYCC of the following lists detailed here on the contest’s flicker group. The photographer that captures with his or her lens the best one thing on the list (and has the best shots according to our judge) wins bragging rights till 2013. This year’s judge is award winning author Jay Lake. Good luck and good hunting!

Signings throughout the weekend at NYCC for authors:

Author signings for Hachette Book Group USA Booth 1027
Author signings for Tor books will be at the Tor Books Booth 920
Author signings for Random House -Del Rey Booth 1120
Author signings for HarperCollins Booth 1004
Author signings for Quirk Books Booth 1021
Author signings for Simon & Schuster Booth 829
Author signings for Penguin Group books Booth 921
Author signings for First Second Booth 1214

Use this to help you plan your weekend with NYCC:

NYCC My-Show-Planner

In the past 24 hours, two photos of Lady Gaga have been uploaded...

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 17:55:19 -0400

In the past 24 hours, two photos of Lady Gaga have been uploaded to her fan page showing her in fantastic Steampunk fashion.

See the rest here

How to make a Tail Coat Materials:Suit CoatPiece of...

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 16:34:40 -0400

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How to make a Tail Coat

Materials:
Suit Coat
Piece of Chalk
Scissors
Pins and/or Safetypins
Needle & Thread or Fabric Glue

Step I: Finding a Coat
Finding a suit coat free or for cheap is quite easy. Before you go shopping for one, ask your parents, friends and family if they have any sitting around that you can have. Often, relatives will have a lot of them, so pick through what they have to find one you like. If you are not so lucky as to get a coat for free, look through thrift stores, ideally the Salvation Army or, failing that, Goodwill. If none are available in your neighborhood, check a local charity or religious center, tag sales, flea markets or consignment shops. Web sites such as Sportsmansguide.com can also provide inexpensive coats, as well as other items of interest, but they are generally not quite as cheap as thrift stores. Ideally, the average coat you buy should cost between $1 and $10, not more, unless you wish to buy something more expensive.

Step II: Choosing a Coat

Choosing a coat is also easy, and your primary concern is that your coat is comfortable and looks the way you like; although remember that you can always change or customize the color of the coat and buttons. Be sure that it fits well in the shoulders and that the top two buttons can close comfortable; we won’t be using any other buttons beneath the top two, so only worry about those. The coat should have an intact lining, as this will make things easier for you during the conversion process, although this is not required.

If you want to dye or bleach the coat, make sure you do this before you begin cutting. You can even give the coat a distressed look by only bleaching sections of it, but again this should be done before cutting begins. Be careful to test out any dyes or bleaching agents on a small section of the coat before you do the entire thing, as different chemicals and fabrics will react in different and often unpredictable ways toward one another.

Step III: Measuring the Coat
For measurement, you will want to be wearing the coat with the buttons closed, as the alterations will depend on how it sits on you. Use a piece of chalk for marking, and draw a line across the coat at around bellybutton level. The line should span from arm to arm, or about the edges of your hips. Next, draw another line straight down on either side. These will be your cutting lines. If you make a crooked line or need to remeasure, chalk lines can be brushed off and redrawn.

Step IV: Cutting
Before you cut, you will need to loosen the lining for when you start cutting. Using a seam ripper or sharp knife, break the seams below the cutting lines. Don’t worry if you go too high in your seam-ripping, but try not to break any seams above your cutting line if possible.

Now you can begin cutting. Carefully cut along your chalk lines, creating the picture in the image. If you want to be certain that the two sides of your coat will be symmetrical, simply cut out one side as normal, then fold the coat over and use the cut side to guide your chalk in marking the second side. Be sure not to cut the lining at all; that will be dealt with later.

Step V: Lining
Now that you are finished cutting, take the uncut lining and tuck it up inside the coat. If it is too long to tuck up easily, you may trim it down a bit. The point of the doubled-up lining is to help anchor the new seam later on.

Using pins to secure the fabric in place, sew a new seam at the edge of the lining and the coat. If you would prefer not to do any sewing, fabric glue can be used to secure the hem instead, and makes an effective sealant. If you use this second technique, make certain that the glue does not set on any materials you do not want to be glued to the coat. Be aware that a glued hem will not hold as well as a stitched one. Also, for a more distressed look, feel free to substitute safety pins for sewing, although be aware that this will be comparable to gluing in terms of stability.

Step VI: Finishing
Now that your lining is set, you have the choice of giving the coat a distressed look, or giving it a more formal, polished look. To distress the coat, simply leave the cut edges of the coat unhemmed and let them fray with wear. For a more polished look, fold over as small a hem as possible and either sew or glue it in place as you did with the lining. During this process, please feel free to try on the coat to be certain it looks the way you want. To make wider or narrower tails, feel free to cut back or fold over the coat tails until you have the width and angle you like. Only sew or glue the hem after you have made sure that you like how everything looks.

With that, you are finished. Please enjoy your new tail coat, and customize it as you see fit.

Two days in a row, really good stuff at Hautelook.com Big sale...

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 12:13:43 -0400

Two days in a row, really good stuff at Hautelook.com

Big sale on the wonderful always vintage-style Boutique by 1928.

Tons of jewelry here on sale, and it all looks like it was taken from the set of Dowton Abbey or The Age of Innocence. It’s all priced between $10 to $30 (it’s normally priced much, much higher). I picked up a great vintage style necklace that looks like a 1870s pair of glasses.

Go look, and grab up some great vintage style jewelry that costs much less than vintage jewelry normally costs.

Go here to Hautelook, log in, and go shopping!

Hautelook.com

Meghan LA Blowout At Hautelook.com,a site that for years has...

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:15:14 -0400

Meghan LA Blowout

At Hautelook.com,a site that for years has been fantastic for getting really great stuff at insane sale prices, there is currently an amazing sale on Meghan LA jewelry. Like 80% to 90% off everything. Go look: that Octopus Bracelet pictured above that was $73.00 is now $21.00 ! There are a ton of pretty things like Dragons, Owls, Skulls, and a lot more. Tons of wonderful stuff that is all under $30 that was over $300 before the sale.

I just got the Octopus bracelet for my self.

Go here, Log in and happy shopping!

Hautelook.com

lawrencegullo: (Possible) preview for G. D. Falksen’s The...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 18:34:39 -0400

lawrencegullo:

(Possible) preview for G. D. Falksen’s The Ouroboros Cycle, Book 1, A Monster’s Coming of Age Story

RockLove on Fab.com I have told you before how great Fab.com...

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 09:30:22 -0400

RockLove on Fab.com

I have told you before how great Fab.com is, Also how great Rocklove jewelry is.

On Fab till midnight tonight a huge sale is happening on Rocklove Jewelry!

Yes you can grab up the great Tentacle jewelry on sale! Go before it sells out as the sale only has 24 hours till its gone!

Go to Fab.com here , Scroll down and click the “Rocklove Jewelry” sale and happy shopping!

Music Saturday .

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 06:56:18 -0400

Music Saturday .